Real Companionship
by CharlieSwagron
Summary: Inara messes up while with a client and Mal finds out about it. He's sick of the two of them dancing around their feelings and decides to take action.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Firefly. If I did, the world would be a happier place 'cause it'd still be airing episodes.**

**A/N: This is my first time writing smut so I hope you guys aren't too critical about it. Any mistakes in here are mine and mine alone. This idea struck out of nowhere, basically. There really is not set time frame for this story, just that it's after The Train Job and before Heart of Gold so really it could be set somewhere in the middle of the show.**

He thrust into her and her back arched sharply. "Mal," she wanted to gasp out, but she didn't. She sealed her lips together and let nothing but short breaths escape.

Her body was on fire. The man above her played her like a fine instrument, his hands everywhere at once. His fingers danced across her skin, leaving trails of heat wherever they went.

Inara moaned as her eyes closed. The things this man was doing to her. A hand came up to bury itself in his short brown hair. Her fingers clutched the strands as his lips found her neck.

She tilted her head aside to give him more room. His continual thrusting sped up while he nipped at a spot behind her ear.

"Mal," she moaned, forgetting to hold it in. It took her a moment to realize the man above her had gone still, his head leaving her neck.

The Companion opened her eyes in confusion and was met with a pair of indignant eyes. Instead of the crystal blue she'd expected to see, the eyes were a shade of sea green. The man pulled away from her, hopped off the bed, and began putting his clothes back on.

"Jensen, please—" Inara started.

"Please, just…save it," her client requested. "You were quite clearly thinking of another man besides me while we were…engaged. To stay here and continue after you've said his name? No, I have far more dignity than that."

The woman was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry," she said at last.

"So am I." The man pulled on his boots and turned to her. "You can keep the money I paid and don't worry; I won't sully your name after this." He nodded to her. "I hope whoever it was you were thinking of knows how lucky he is." And with that, her client walked out of her shuttle, breaking their arrangement off.

Inara watched as he stormed out of her shuttle, helpless to do anything but sit there. The door slamming shut broke her out of her trance. She hurled a pillow at the wall, furious with herself. She had _never_ lost that much control before. A Companion _specialized_ in control, so how could she lose it that quickly?

She flopped onto her back with a heavy sigh. There had been many clients recently whom she fantasized to be that gorram Captain. She'd been extra careful to make sure nothing slipped out during her time with those men, but somehow her fantasy had gotten the best of her.

The Companion was embarrassed. Worse, she was ashamed. She was lucky that Jensen Stewart was one of the kinder ones and wouldn't tarnish her reputation by spreading news of her fantasies, but others weren't like that. If this had happened with the wrong client, Inara would've been ruined.

Well, there was nothing she could do now. The worst part was that she wasn't expected back on Serenity for another day. Going back this early would bring about questions she wouldn't be able to answer. Unfortunately, she had no choice. Staying in the shuttle alone for the next day was the most unappealing thought to her—besides sleeping with Jayne, of course.

Gathering her wits about her, Inara tossed the sheets off her body and pulled on her clothes. She padded over to the pilot's seat and contacted the ship.

"Serenity, this is Shuttle 1, are you there?" she asked.

Almost instantly a voice came through from the other side. "Inara? Is that you?" It was Wash.

"Yes, Wash. It's me. Are you still docked in the same place?"

"Yeah but, shouldn't you be with a client right about now?" he asked bewildered.

Choosing to ignore his inquiry, the woman told him, "I'll be flying back to the ship. Give me about a half hour and I'll be there."

The man decided not to press her for details since she hadn't answered his first question. "Alright, see ya then."

They broke off contact and Inara lifted her shuttle into the air. Taking off, she made her way back to Serenity.

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

Her shuttle was locked onto the ship. She stayed in the pilot's seat for another peaceful minute, not all that eager to go out and face the others. They would have their own questions, just like Wash. Especially Kaylee. Kaylee loved to know about her adventures as a Companion and this time would be no different.

There was, however, one man she would be avoiding entirely for the rest of the day: Malcolm Reynolds. He would be the nosiest and the most ignorant of them all. He'd pry into her business just to get under her skin. Merciful Buddha, how he annoyed her! The strange attraction she felt towards him, however, told a completely different story.

Inara stood from her seat and walked out of the shuttle. Just as she was closing the door behind her, she heard, "Inara? Wash said you were comin' back, but I didn't believe him. Why're ya here so early?"

Inara turned and smiled. It was almost impossible to not give her _mei-mei_ a smile. Kaylee had an infectious energy about her that was hard to ignore. Even Mal was able to show joy around his favorite mechanic.

"Did somethin' go wrong with your client?" Kaylee asked.

"No, Kaylee. Nothing went wrong with my client," she answered vaguely.

The other girl wasn't to be shaken loose so soon, though. For all the Companion training Inara had had, it sure wasn't coming in handy just then. Kaylee was able to read her like a book.

"Ooohh," the mechanic said knowingly. "Somethin' happened durin' the sexin', right?"

Inara's eyebrows rose and her eyes widened slightly, shocked at the girl's bluntness. Kaylee had always been that way so it honestly shouldn't have surprised her.

Kaylee took this as a sign that she was right. "So somethin' _did_ happen durin' sex. So what was it? Was he bad? Did he do somethin' wrong? Did he—"

"Alright, Kaylee, calm down." The dark-haired woman looked around them and said, "We'll speak in my shuttle." Ushering the other girl inside, Inara closed the door behind them.

She sighed as the mechanic looked expectantly at her. "It wasn't my client who did something wrong, Kaylee. It was me," she admitted.

Kaylee looked taken aback by the confession. "You? But, Inara, you never do _anything_ wrong."

"Well, this time I did, _mei-mei_," Inara said softly.

"What happened?"

Inara took a deep breath. "We were engaged in…certain activities and all was going perfectly well. Until I…" she trailed off, unable to tell her friend the story.

"Until you…what? What'd you do?" The girl took in the Companions scarlet-stained cheeks and shameful expression. What could be so bad that it had one of the most well-trained Companions in the 'Verse blushing to no end. Unless…

"'Nara? Did you-did you say someone else's name?" Kaylee asked cautiously. The other's silence was her answer and confirmation. "Oh, 'Nara. That musta hurt his pride somethin' fierce. How'd he take it?"

"How do you think? He got up and stormed off." She looked over at the younger girl. "It was humiliating."

There was sympathy written all over Kaylee's features. She desperately tried to resist asking the question, but the temptation was too much for her. "So whose name was it that you said?"

"I am _not_ telling you that, Kaylee," Inara replied.

"Oh c'mon, ya know ya wanna. Was it another client of yours?"

"I won't tell you."

"Was it someone I know?"

"Just leave it be, Kaylee."

"…Was it the Cap'n's?"

Kaylee knew she'd hit the target when Inara answered too quickly, "Most certainly not."

Grinning triumphantly, the girl said, "I knew it. It _was_ the Cap'n. You should tell him."

"Absolutely not!" Inara said, panic lacing her voice. She glanced at her friend and saw that she was giving her a thanks-for-confirming-what-I-said face. The woman rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. You win. I _did_ end up saying Mal's name. My client got mad and walked away. Are you happy now?"

"Very," the other girl told her. "You should still tell him, though."

"And why would I do that?"

"'Cause you an' him belong together. Everyone on this boat is sick an' tired of you guys dancin' 'round your feelings. Just tell the Cap'n and get to sexin' him already."

"It's a bit more complicated than that, Kaylee," Inara replied.

"Like hell it is!" she burst out. "You an' the Cap'n got feelings for each other and one o' you needs to come out an' say 'em. Everyone's affected by 'em, 'Nara. It makes it all kinds o' awkward to be 'round the two o' you. You can't even keep a client 'cause you're too busy fantasizin' 'bout him! Never thought I'd say this, but I guess you're both just too much of cowards to do anything 'bout it." Kaylee, done with her rant, got up and strode off. She didn't like exploding on her friend like that, but _something_ had to be done about the Captain and her. Inara saying Mal's name in bed was just the catalyst that could finally push them into each other's arms…or finally tear them apart for good.

The mechanic didn't like the thought of the last one and hastily pushed it out of her mind. She had faith that the unusual anger she'd shown would knock some sense into the Companion.

For the second time that day, Inara watched as someone stormed out of her shuttle. What was with her today? Why was everyone walked away from her? Of all the people she'd thought would do this, her dearest Kaylee would never have been one of them.

_I guess I've really screwed up,_ she thought to herself. Wait, _she_ wasn't the one who'd caused all this. No, the culprit wasn't her. It was Mal, the stupid _hun dan_ that had been on her mind constantly since she'd first joined the ship.

Before her anger could really take hold, Inara's stomach rumbled. Realizing that she hadn't eaten since the early breakfast she'd had, she exited the shuttle and headed to the Dining Area. When she arrived there, she made an unfortunate discovery. Mal was at a table, cleaning his weapons. Frowning, she walked in.

He didn't even look up as he said, "What're you doin' back so early?"

"Nice to see you to, Mal," she responded sarcastically.

He ignored her sarcasm. "What happened? You break the poor boy an' had t' send him home early?"

"I'm flattered that you would think so highly of me and my skills," she told him.

"Ain't you I don't respect. It's _them_ I don't like."

Inara hesitated before asking, "And why's that?"

"All those young bucks do is rent someone for a short time. They're so consumed with their money an' themselves that they can't find _real_ companionship. 'Stead, they find a Companion."

"And what would you know about _real companionship_, Malcolm Reynolds? The only thing you've every loved in the last year has been Serenity. Before that, it was the war. You've been alone nearly your whole life so tell me, Mal, what would you know about real companionship? Or even love for that matter?" How did he do this? They'd been in each other's presence for not even two minutes and they'd already struck up an argument.

Mal's hands ceased their cleaning of his weapons. Quietly he said, "I know it can't be bought." He'd spoken so softly, Inara had barely heard him. "I know it's somethin' ya have to search for. You look and look and look and if you can't find it, then ya look again. You search until ya finally have it. Sometimes, you find it. Other times, _it_ finds_ you._ Them as call themselves your clients don't know the first thing 'bout that. They're so used to havin' everything handed to 'em that when it comes time to search, they choose the easy way out an' get a Companion. Sure it makes 'em feel good for a few days, but that'll only go so far.

"Love is havin' trust an' faith' an' belief in somethin'. Your gorram right when ya say I love this ship 'cause I do." Mal looked pointedly at her. "An' I love everyone on it too."

Inara didn't know what to say. A whirlwind of emotions swirled inside her as she tried to process what he'd said. His speech about love and companionship had completely blind-sided her. And then he had to go and direct his comment about loving his crew straight at her. She had been angry at him when she'd first walked into the Dining Area, but now, she furious.

"How dare you," she said, her voice lowering dangerously. His expression was one of confusion. "How dare you sit there and confess all that to me. How dare you taunt me for months about my profession, and then say that you respect me. How dare you not give me a sign of any kind and then just now tell me that you love me!" Malcolm Reynolds had no right whatsoever to do what he just did. Where was the sarcastic, quick-witted Captain she'd come to know? Who was this soft, caring man sitting in front of her and what had he done with the real Mal?

The Companion was about to go off on a huge tirade, that much he could tell. She had anger and frustration built up that would only lead her to saying things they both would regret.

Mal, however, was done playing games. He'd heard from Wash that Inara was coming back early and he couldn't help, but wonder if she'd been hurt by her client. Just the thought of it made his blood boil. So he'd hidden in the shadows as she stepped out of her shuttle only to be met with a curious Kaylee.

From his hiding spot, she'd seemed physically okay, but something was obviously wrong. She and Kaylee had retreated back into her shuttle and he'd followed, standing just outside the door to eavesdrop.

And he'd heard _everything._ Inara—esteemed Companion, Inara Serra—had said _his_ name while in bed with a client. At first his ego took a hold and he grinned smugly to himself at the thought. Then, he actually realized what that meant. Inara had feelings for him. He'd always known from the moment he'd seen her on his ship that he was attracted to her, but now it went far beyond that. He might actually _love_ her. It was a ridiculous notion, but one that was far from false.

Kaylee's explosive speech to Inara had rendered him shocked and speechless, much like the Companion on the receiving end of it. He'd quickly recovered, however, realizing that his mechanic would make her exit soon. He'd run to his bunk and taken out his weapons cleaning kit, bringing them to the Dining Area where he'd known Inara would have to go in order to get food later. It turned out that he hadn't had to wait as long as he'd thought for her to show up.

Wash and Kaylee, the only two who'd stayed on the ship that day, had mysteriously vanished soon after Kaylee's rant, leaving Inara and Mal by themselves in Serenity. Everyone else, even River and Simon, had gone out earlier to enjoy their day of leisure.

So here he was, getting yelled at by Inara because he'd decided to come clean with her. He was tiring of her threats and insults very quickly so he made a choice. Standing up, he advanced upon her slowly. With every step forward that he took, she took one backwards until she met resistance. She'd hit the edge of the kitchen counter.

Unable to move backwards anymore, Inara simply stood still, watching as Mal came closer and closer to her. Her next words died in her mouth, never having the chance to be released. The air was thick with tension as the distance between the two decreased to less than several inches apart.

Inara bent her neck back in order to maintain eye contact with him. Mal was incredibly tall and his boots added another couple inches onto his height. Inara wasn't short either, but she was certainly at least half a foot shorter than the man in front of her.

Mal leaned down, his lips aiming for hers. "Don't tell me no, 'Nara. Please, don't tell me no," he whispered.

"I won't," she murmured back. His mouth crashed down onto hers and all coherent thought fled from her mind.

It felt like she was coming home—like this was where she'd belonged the whole time. His lips were soft—a sharp contrast to the hard exterior he put on everyday. One of his hands came up to cup her cheek while the other rested gently on her hip.

He pulled back for air, but was on her again just as quickly. This time, his tongue found its way inside her mouth, wrestling with her own. Breaking away, Mal began to trail kisses down her jaw and onto her neck. Sucking on a patch of skin, the hand that had been on Inara's cheek, moved up to tangle in her hair. Yanking lightly, he exposed more of her delicious neck for him to feast on. He moved to the junction where her neck and shoulder met and bit down, laving his tongue over the area soon after.

The woman gasped, surprised at his actions. She needed to do something with her hands. In order to keep them occupied, she hurriedly flung off Mal's suspenders and untucked his shirt. Undoing the buttons on them was another matter entirely. It took almost all of the concentration she had left to work on unbuttoning the gorram shirt. She needed to feel more skin and she wasn't alone in that thought.

Mal brought his hands up to each of the dress and slowly pushed them off her shoulders. The simple, red silk dress Inara had been wearing fell to the ground and pooled at her feet. The Captain gaped as he saw what she had been wearing underneath the dress: nothing. His blue eyes darkened with desire and a predatory look descended upon his face. Believing that she was taking too long, Mal ripped his own shirt sending buttons flying in all directions. He tossed the useless scrap of clothing to the side as Inara began to work on unzipping his pants.

"You didn't have to ruin your shirt, you know," she admonished him.

"I got more," he said, shutting her up with another kiss.

He bent his head down and captured one of her nipples in his mouth. Her loud moan made him look up at her.

"Did I just make the great Inara Serra _moan?_" he asked smugly.

"Shut up," she ordered, grabbing his head with her hands and bringing him back to her chest.

His lips wrapped around her other nipple, one hand coming up to show some attention to one he'd just abandoned. His mouth blazed a trail of open-mouthed kissed down her toned stomach. Her body was on fire. Every nerve ending was being pleasurably tortured by this man. He stood straight and lifted her up onto the counter. Kneeling before her, his lips continued to make their way down south.

He kissed one of her thighs and then the other, so very close to where she really wanted him. Inara was practically shaking from need and all she wanted right now was relief from it.

Finally, Mal's mouth made contact with her. His tongue licked a path beginning at her entrance and ending with a sharp flick at her clit. Her hips bucked into his face, a hand coming down to rest on his head, holding him in place. It seemed to her that his tongue was everywhere at once. One second, Mal was rapidly sucking on her clit, the next, he was shoving his tongue as far as it would go inside her.

Inara hadn't even recognized the fact that her orgasm was building until it was actually upon her. It crashed over her like a wall of falling bricks, surprising even Mal. He hadn't even needed to add his fingers to the mix. This was a giant ego boost for him and he was reveling in it almost as much as Inara was reveling in her climax.

She was panting hard, trying to regain her breath as Mal rid himself of the rest of his clothing. Naked and exposed before completely before each other, the two briefly stopped what they were doing to simply stare and absorb as much as they could.

Inara, flushed and gasping from her recent orgasm, was beautiful. Of course Mal had known this way before this time. A blind man could've seen the beauty of Inara Serra from a mile away. To Inara, Mal was beautiful in his own way. His strongly built body carried scars that told a thousand stories, each one unique on its own.

"Mal," she whispered aloud, breaking both of their trances.

Mal put one hand on Inara's waist while the other guided himself into her. He took his time, sliding inch by inch every so slowly inside. She wrapped around him like velvet warmth. Their gazes met and their eyes locked together as he buried himself to the hilt.

He clenched his jaw to maintain his control, but Inara would have none of that. Her hand came up to his cheek and pulled him down for a fierce kiss.

"Move, please," she begged.

Regaining his senses about him, Mal pulled back and then plunged back in. Twin groans escaped the two lovers as he continued to nonchalantly pump into her. The man buried his face into her neck and sucked harshly on the skin he found there.

Inara's gasps and moans could hardly be contained. Mal had at least _tried_ to control himself, but she was far past that. It was ironic that Companion training was about being the one in control yet here, she lacked it completely. With any other man—or woman—Inara was the one with the control because _she_ was the Companion. Mal, on the other hand, was totally different. The sounds she emitted during sex with clients were mostly forced for their benefit. Those coming out of her mouth now, however, were most definitely _not_ forced.

The reality of having Mal near her, with her, touching her, _inside_ her was so much better than any fantasy she could ever conjure up. Sweat rolled down both their backs as Mal sped up his pace.

He thrust in and out of her, all the while keeping lips-to-skin contact with her. Inara placed a hand on the counter top behind her and used it as leverage to meet him thrust for thrust. Her hips moved sensuously and her eyes shut tightly when he hit a spot deep within her that had her writhing on the counter.

He quirked up an eyebrow, pleased with his new-found discovery and tested the waters again. He managed to hit the same spot again, and once more after that. A devious smile appeared on his face. His main goal now was to keep hitting that spot over and over until she begged him for release. Mal's strokes were becoming shorter and faster as he neared his climax. He would hold off until he had Inara pleading for him, though.

Inara was in complete ecstasy. It wouldn't be long, now, until she reached her end. The coil in her stomach was winding tighter and tighter with every thrust. She just needed a little more…of everything. She needed it faster, harder, stronger. She needed him to release the pressure that had been building.

"Mal," she gasped out. "More."

He grunted. "Beg me," was his response.

"Mal," she practically whined. "Please."

"Not good enough." Instead of doing as she'd requested, Mal did the opposite; he slowed down and placed his hands on the counted, reducing the amount of skin-to-skin contact he had with her.

A growl emanated from the back of Inara's throat. After a moment she conceded. "Please, Mal. For the love of God just give me more. Go faster, harder, anything! I just need something!"

"Ain't no room on my boat for God," he told her as he obeyed her plea.

"I don't really care right now," she replied.

He pounded into her, wrapping an arm around her back and pulling her close to him. His free hand ran down her front and found its way to where they were joined. His fingers roughly circled her clit as he buried his face into her neck once more. All of it was too much for Inara to handle and the coil in her stomach finally snapped.

Wave after wave of pleasure soared over her as pure ecstasy coursed through her veins. She clenched around Mal's length, squeezing him tightly.

"Mal, Mal," she moaned as she felt him about to fall over the edge as well.

His hips suddenly jerked sloppily as he emptied himself into her. "'Nara," he groaned. He eventually stilled, panting harshly against Inara's smooth skin.

The Captain pulled his head back to look at his lover. He connected their lips in a short, but sweet kiss. They separated and glanced around the room. Clothes were strewn everywhere and if they hadn't needed to be picked up, Mal would've carried Inara to his bunk right then and there.

Alas, that wasn't the case. Inara hopped off the counter carefully and picked up her discarded dress while Mal gathered up his clothing articles. Not even bothering to put them on knowing they were alone on the ship just then, the two made their way to Mal's room in silence, hands linked the whole way there.

Once in his bunk, they dropped the clothes on the floor and climbed into bed. Mal laid on his back so that Inara could drape herself across his side. His arm wrapped protectively around her as the two settled down.

"Sometimes love walks onto your ship, wantin' to rent one o' your shuttles," Mal said quietly, alluding to their earlier conversation.

"And sometimes love captains that ship, waiting for one of its shuttles to be rented out," she replied.

"Is that so?"

"Mhm."

He closed his eyes peacefully and whispered, "Yeah, that sounds about right."

**A/N: So what did you think? This was my first time writing smut so feel free to tell me if it was alright or not. Thank you to those of you who read this.**

**Chinese Translations:**

_**Gorram: Goddamn**_

_**Mei-mei: sister-like term; little sister**_

_**Hun dan: bastard**_


End file.
